Childebert I

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Childebert I

Childebert I (Rheims, c.496 – 13 December 558

558

Events...
) was the Frankish king of Paris, a Merovingian dynast, one of the four sons of Clovis I

Clovis I

Clovis was the first King of the Franks to unite all the Franks under one king. He succeeded his father Childeric I in 481 as King of the Salian Franks, one of the Frankish tribes who were then occupying the area west of the lower Rhine, with their centre around Tournai and Cambrai along the modern frontier between France and Belgium, in an...
who shared the kingdom of the Franks upon their father's death in 511. He was one of the sons of Saint Clotilda.

In the partition of the realm, he received as his share the town of Paris

Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
, the country to the north as far as the river Somme

Somme

The Somme is a departments of France of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme River. It is part of the Picardie regions of France....
, to the west as far as the English Channel

English Channel

The English Channel is an Arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest, to only in the Strait of Dover....
, and the Armorica

Armorica

Armorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire River rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast....
n peninsula (modern Brittany

Brittany

Brittany is a former independent Celtic nations monarchy and duchy, now incorporated into France. It is also, more generally, the name of the cultural area whose limits correspond to the historic province and independent duchy....
).

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Childebert I (Rheims, c.496 – 13 December 558

558

Events...
) was the Frankish king of Paris, a Merovingian dynast, one of the four sons of Clovis I

Clovis I

Paris

Somme

English Channel

Armorica

Brittany

Theuderic I

Theuderic I was the Merovingian king of Metz, Rheims, or Austrasia ? as it is variously called ? from 511 to 533 or 534.He was the son of Clovis I and one of his earlier wives or concubines....
in Metz

Metz

Metz is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine R?gion in France and prefecture of the Moselle Departments of France.It is located at the confluence of the Moselle River and the Seille rivers....
, Chlodomer

Chlodomer

Chlodomer, also spelled Clodomir or Clodomer was the second of the four sons of Clovis I, List of Frankish Kings. On the death of his father, in 511, he divided the kingdom of the Franks with his three brothers: Theuderic I, Childebert I, and Clotaire I....
in Orléans

Orléans

Orl?ans is a city in north-central France, about 130 km southwest of Paris. It is the capital of the Loiret Departments of France and of the Centre R?gion in France....
, and Clotaire I

Clotaire I

Chlothar I , called the Old , King of the Franks, was one of the four sons of Clovis I. He was born about 497 in Soissons .On the death of his father in 511, he received, as his share of the kingdom, the town of Soissons, which he made his capital; the cities of Laon, Noyon, Cambrai, and Maastricht; and the lower course of the Meuse...
in Soissons

Soissons

Soissons is a Communes of the Aisne department in the Aisne Departments of France in Picardie in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about 100 kilometres northeast of Paris....
.

In 523, Childebert participated in a war against Godomar of Burgundy

Godomar

Godomar , son of king Gundobad, was king of Kingdom of Burgundy. He ruled Burgundy after his elder brother's death in 524 until 534.Both he and his brother Sigismund of Burgundy were defeated in battle by Clovis' sons....
. Chlodomer died in the Battle of Vézeronce

Battle of Vézeronce

The Battle of V?zeronce took place on June 25, 524 close to V?zeronce-Curtin in Is?re. It was part of the War of Burgundy initiated by the four successors of the Frankish king Clovis I: Childebert I, Chlodomir, Clotaire I, and Theuderic I....
. In 524, after the murder of Chlodomer's children, Childebert annexed the cities of Chartres

Chartres

Chartres is a town and Communes of France and capital of the Eure-et-Loir Departments of France in north-central France It is located southwest of Paris in central France....
and Orléans

Orléans

Orl?ans is a city in north-central France, about 130 km southwest of Paris. It is the capital of the Loiret Departments of France and of the Centre R?gion in France....
.

He took part in later various expeditions against the kingdom of Burgundy

Burgundians

File:Roman Empire 125.svgThe Burgundians were an East Germanic language Germanic tribes which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe....
. He besieged Autun

Autun

Autun is a Communes of France in the Sa?ne-et-Loire Departments of France in Bourgogne in eastern France.The history of Autun dates back to Ancient Rome times....
in 532 and, in 534, received as his share of the spoils of that kingdom the towns of Mâcon

Macon

Macon may refer to:...
, Geneva

Geneva

Geneva is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie . Situated where the Rh?ne River exits Lake Geneva , it is the capital of the Canton of Geneva....
, and Lyon

Lyon

||-||}Lyon, also known as Lyons in English, is a city in east-central France. Its name is pronounced in French language and Franco-Proven?al language, and or in English language....
. When Witiges

Witiges

Witiges or Vitiges was King of the Ostrogoths in Italy from 536 to 540.He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War , as Belisarius had quickly captured Sicily the previous year and was currently in southern Italy at the head of the forces of Justinian I, the Byzantine Empire....
, the king of the Ostrogoths, ceded Provence

Provence

Provence is a region of southeastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative regions of France of Provence-Alpes-C?te d'Azur....
to the Franks in 535, the possession of Arles

Arles

Arles is a city in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rh?ne Departments of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, in the former Provinces of France of Provence....
and Marseilles was guaranteed to Childebert by his brothers. The annexation of that province was completed, with Clotaire's help, in the winter of 536–537.

In 531, he received pleas from his sister Chrotilda

Clotilde (died 531)

Clotilde or Chrodechildis was the daughter of King Clovis I of the Franks and Queen Clotilde.In 511 she was married to the Visigoths King Amalaric....
, wife of King Amalaric

Amalaric

Amalaric, or in Spanish language and Portuguese language, Amalarico, was a son of king Alaric II and of Theodegotho, daughter of Theodoric the Great and his first wife....
of the Visigoths. The Arian

Arianism

Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heresy at the First Council of Nicea, later exonerated and then pronounced a heretic again after his death....
king of Hispania

Hispania

Hispania was the name given by the Ancient Rome to the whole of the Iberian Peninsula . When Rome was a Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into Roman provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior....
, Chrotilda claimed, was grossly mistreating her, a Catholic. Childebert went down with an army and defeated the Gothic king. Amalaric retreated to Barcelona, where he was assassinated. Chrotilda died on her return journey to Paris of unknown causes.

Childebert made other expeditions against the Visigoths. In 542, he took possession of Pamplona

Pamplona

Pamplona is the capital city of Navarre, Spain and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Ferm?n festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls or encierro is one of the main attractions....
with the help of his brother Clotaire and besieged Zaragoza, but was forced to retreat. From this expedition he brought back to Paris a precious relic, the tunic of St Vincent

Vincent of Saragossa

Saint Vincent of Saragossa, also known as Vincent of Huesca or Vincent the Deacon, is the patron saint of Lisbon. His feast day is January 22 in the Roman Catholic Church, and November 11 in the Eastern Orthodox Churches....
, in honour of which he built at the gates of Paris the famous monastery of St Vincent, known later as St-Germain-des-Prés.

He died without issue on 13 December 558

558

Events...
, and was buried in the abbey he had founded, where his tomb has been discovered. Childebert was an acquisitive monarch. He expanded his domains in more foreign wars than any of his brothers: fighting in Burgundy (more than once), Spain (more than once), Provence, and elsewhere in Gaul. Gregory of Tours

Gregory of Tours

Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman History and Bishops of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather....
, a contemporary, speaking as a Neustria

Neustria

The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities....
n, puts these words into Childebert's mouth: Velim unquam Arvernam Lemanem quae tantae jocunditatis gratia refulgere dicitur, oculis cernere. Childbert was also one of the more religious of the sons of Clovis, cooperating with his brothers, rescuing his sister, and constructing the famous monastery of St Vincent to house his relics.

Sources

Gregory of Tours
Gregory of Tours

Saint Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman History and Bishops of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of Gaul. He was born Georgius Florentius, later adding the name Gregorius in honour of his maternal great-grandfather....
. The History of the Franks. 2 vol. trans. O. M. Dalton. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967.
Geary, Patrick J. Before France and Germany. Oxford University Press: 1988.